watching Flyers/Islanders Dirty POS Gudas tries to injure Kulemin with a cheap shot Every year the Flyers are full of dirty scumbags.
Yeah. How about that Pens-Caps game yesterday? Pens look like a contender now. Hard to tell if they can keep it up but they definitely turned a corner after that coaching change. Doing it without Malkin too. I don't take much from the game as a Caps fan, as they are a team just playing out the final 12 games knowing they are the #1 seed, but still I was impressed by the Penguins effort.
heard about that, a lot of talk now (articles and the like) about how the Penguins are back amazing the way Sid was struggling before the coaching change. Worst slump of his career. Penguins still have a number of issues, though. Crosby/Malkin (when he returns)/Letang/Fleury but no depth. Those four guys eat up such a huge chunk of their cap that they are stuck with some subpar players.
Stars routing the Blackhawks at the United Center Chicago's slide continues, they've been horrible lately.
Not sure what is going on with Chicago but they certainly aren't entering the playoffs with style. Los Angeles and Nashville look strong in the West imo. I can't trust Dallas, St Louis or San Jose just yet
my opinion: it won't be St. Louis or Dallas coming out of the West. Both have a key injury, with Steen and Seguin out, return dates unknown. Dallas is shaky on the back end, as mentioned. San Jose has the requisite talent but they're San Jose, and like Washington, they find ways to come up short when it counts. I think it'll be one of these four: Anaheim/LA/Chicago/Nashville In the East, Washington is so much better than everyone. They'd have to work even harder than usual to choke away a Stanley Cup appearance. I favor Washington, but everyone else I feel like has a chance, aside from the Islanders and Flyers (pretty much has to be one getting in, possibly both).
What a regular season for the Washington Capitals. Last night they not only clinched The Metropolitan Division, but the entire Eastern Conference, with 10 games left in the season. Now they have to find a way to 1. Stay healthy 2. Get into playoff mode with these final games. On a team that has Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeni Kuznetsov, TJ Oshie, Justin Williams, etc, my favorite player this year has been Braden Holtby. Without a doubt. Last night after winning in Ottawa 3-2 and clinching the East, he looked so pissed in his postgame interview. It was as if someone stole his puppy. All because the Caps took a 3-0 lead in the first, then played a poor 2nd and 3rd, hanging on at the end. This is the attitude it takes to win a Stanley Cup. Holtby has it, Coach Barry Trotz has it, and I think most of the team has it. Now they just have to do it.
Agreed. Holtby is the pillar for Washington if they want to go to the finals and as long as the defense plays like it's played all year they should be in good shape. At this point Tampa seems like the only team that could challenge them. I do love Justin Williams and the last time he made the playoffs he won Playoff MVP. We shall see
Agreed. I think he would have been the MVP if they weren't so far ahead as they have been. As odd as that sounds. The last couple months the Caps have been coasting, so players like Holtby or Ovechkin who could have gone after MVP considerations, really have not been pushing 100%. Holtby himself has, but his team around him has not.
